Most recently, Trump canceled funding to clean up human wastewater contaminating homes and yards in rural Lowndes County, Alabama, calling it "illegal DEI." It's no coincidence, I suspect, that 72.4% of the population is Black, hence the "illegal DEI" designation. open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

When SCOTUS empowered Trump with immunity for any "presidential actions" he might take, they must not have realized that his goal would be to render their power moot. open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

Representation without representation

Helter skelter economics. Trump's impulsive moves on tariffs have cost investors about $6 trillion. And the slide isn't over while everyone tries to predict what he'll do next. How low can it go?

Just what is DEI? "State Superintendent Tony Sanders challenged the U.S. Department of Education to prove which programs and activities violate federal civil rights law and to identify “illegal DEI” activities. www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025...

Another day, another plummet in the stock market. Sunday, I watched the smug billionaires in Trump’s administration like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, telling us not to worry. Whatever we've lost we'll be getting back - eventually. Read more at open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

Legend has it Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfed while the stock market burned.

"This month, March, J.P. Morgan predicted there is a 40% chance if a recession, up from 30% in January due to U.S. trade policy. Also this month, 32 fund managers and strategists surveyed by CNBC forecasted a 36% chance of a recession." Read more at tustinamole290682.substack.com/p/looks-like...

I have a Medicare Advantage healthcare plan. MA is privatized Medicare. The insurance company collects money for treatments from Medicare and then skims money off the top, paying hospitals and doctors less than Medicare would have paid. Read more at open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

This is how an oligarchy works. The potential new revenue stream for Mr. Musk’s company comes after he donated nearly $300 million to support the 2024 campaign of Mr. Trump as he sought a return to the White House.

Grover Norquist is an anti-tax activist who once required Republican candidates to sign a pledge not to raise taxes. His goal, he said, was to cut government down to "the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." Read more at open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

"Amazon is asking a federal court in Maryland to throAmazon is asking a federal court in Maryland to throw out the commission’s January order that the company is legally responsible for every harmful product sold on its site, such as defective hair dryers and carbon monoxide detectors."

The Aurora Chamber of Commerce must have been gobsmacked when Aurora at-large Council Member Danielle Jurinsky declared that the Denver suburban city of 400,000 was being overrun by Venezuelan gang members. Overrun she said. open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

Now he's gone and done it. Trump has ticked off SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump is calling for the impeachment of a judge who ruled against him. He's even suggested that the courts have no power over him. Read more at substack.com/profile/1148...

Quick question. Trump pardoned approximately 1,500 individuals convicted or charged in connection with the January 6 insurrection. Did he sign all of them personally?

Republican leaders are telling their representatives not to hold any more town halls so as not to have to face constituents angry about Trump's actions. Protest is working. Keep it up.

Colorado immigrant activist Jeanette Vizguerra detained by ICE in Aurora sentinelcolorado.com/metro/colora...

"Vizguerra was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2017." Colorado immigrant activist Jeanette Vizguerra detained by ICE in Aurora sentinelcolorado.com/metro/colora...

Why does Trump want Canada to become the 51st state? Certainly not for its sake or for the sake of its people. I suspect he wants their oil. Black gold. Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world and is the world's fourth largest oil producer... tustinamole290682.substack.com/p/o-canada

Rep. Jeff Hurd, newly elected representative for CD-3, is trying very hard to sustain his "I'm with you and I'm with Trump" vibe. Thing is he can't be both. tustinamole290682.substack.com/p/all-in-or-...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is cutting two federal programs that provided about $1 billion in funding to schools and food banks to buy food directly from local farms, ranchers and producers ... www.cbsnews.com/news/usda-ca...

President Musk's, oops, I meant Trump’s layoffs are indiscriminate of job function. We know this because he's had to rehire people he fired ... open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

People voted for Trump because he promised to cool inflation and bring down the cost of living. (Not so far) They ignored his threats because, as many of them said, "he doesn't really mean those things." substack.com/@tustinamole...

The Trump administration claims gutting federal agencies will save money, but cutting the IRS means the government collects less taxes. “If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” one expert asks. www.propublica.org/article/how-...

I don't run a business, but even I know that if you cut revenue and increase spending, you won't stay in business very long. But that's exactly what the House budget bill does. substack.com/@tustinamole...

Who needs water? "The uncertainty surrounding B2E funding comes at a crucial time for the Colorado River basin, which has been plagued by drought and dwindling streamflows due to climate change for more than the past two decades." sentinelcolorado.com/1gridhome/tr...

"The solution is always in a future that never comes." www.axios.com/2025/02/27/t...

And you're worried about Facebook tracking you.

Hope. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/u...

Surprised? You shouldn't be. The removal of the second Black man to serve as America’s most senior general and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff appears to send a strong signal from an administration that has outlawed diversity and inclusion .

Finally, Trump is being honest about his ambition.

What will the rogue billionaire do with your private data? The systems at the I.R.S. contain the private financial data tied to millions of Americans, including their tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking details and employment information. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/b...

Don't cut him, don't cut me. Cut that other guy behind the tree. open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

Republican wake-up call? www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

I imagine that Jared Kushner is salivating at the prospect of turning Gaza beachfront land into luxury condos surrounded by luxury hotels, homes and businesses. But has he really thought that through? open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

"Trump is issuing executive orders in attempt to override the powers of Congress and Congress is allowing itself to be effectively neutered." open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

"They’re pulling hundreds of examiners out of the field — the people who make sure your grandmother isn’t getting ripped off by scammers and your kid isn’t being deceived by predatory student lenders." www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog...

Don't worry, we'll always have thoughts and prayers.

As always, the devil is the details. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Reads like dystopian non-fiction. Littwin: Forget the distractions. We can’t lose focus on Elon Musk’s all-out attack on American democracy.  coloradosun.com/2025/02/05/e...

Hell hath no fury like the parents of children with disabilities whose needs aren't being met. Shutting down the Department of Education, which provides funding for services for children with disabilities, won't be pretty. www.axios.com/2025/02/05/t...

I'm running out of words to express my outrage. "Members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, eventually did gain access Saturday to the aid agency’s classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official said. apnews.com/article/doge...

The U.S. Constitution created a representative government so that the locally elected representatives could respond to the needs of the people who lived in the places they represent. Trump is trying to usurp local control when it comes to public education. open.substack.com/pub/tustinam...

“With so much power concentrated in the hands of a few, agencies like the C.F.P.B. have never been more critical,” Mr. Chopra wrote in a letter he posted on social media announcing his departure.

"The system could give the Trump administration another mechanism to attempt to unilaterally restrict disbursement of money approved for specific purposes by Congress, a push that has faced legal roadblocks."

It looks to me that DEI is code for women, people of color and LBGTQ+ people. I think we're one step away from employers to be able to legally refuse to hire people on those grounds.

Seriously? "His instant focus on diversity reflected his instinct to immediately frame major events through his political or ideological lens, whether the facts fit or not." www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/u...

The president may have wide authority to act across a broad assortment of different areas, but he cannot spend any more or less than what Congress mandates without explicit approval from the Legislature…To upset this balance of power — is to unravel the constitutional system.